Carlos Alcaraz admits he has 'no doubts' he'll compete in Saudi Arabia

World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz admits he has ‘no doubts’ he’ll one day compete in Saudi Arabia after tennis chiefs entered talks with the nation’s PIF over a potential partnership

  • The ATP Tour and Saudi Arabia’s PIF have held talks over a potential partnership
  • Carlos Alcaraz is confident the country will host competitions in the future
  • The 20-year-old won his first title on grass on Sunday by winning at Queen’s  

World number one Carlos Alcaraz has ‘no doubts’ he will compete in Saudi Arabia at some point and said the country has the power to hold plenty of tournaments after the ATP Tour began talks about a potential partnership with its sovereign wealth fund.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi told the Financial Times last week he has held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other potential investors on projects including infrastructure, events and technology investment.

The report quoted Gaudenzi as saying any potential investors had to respect the history of the sport and work with current stakeholders, while Alcaraz believes Saudi Arabia has ‘the power to have a lot of tournaments’.

‘I’ve never played an official tournament over there,’ The Queen’s Club champion said after his win on Sunday.

‘And let’s see how it is going to be in the future. But, well, I have no doubts that I’ll play over there in the future.’

Carlos Alcaraz, 20, has 11 career titles to his name including a Grand Slam, the 2022 US Open 

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said he had held ‘positive’ talks with PIF over a partnership 

The Spaniard claimed his maiden title on grass on Sunday, beating Alex de Minaur at Queen’s

Critics have accused the PIF of being a vehicle for the country to improve its reputation as it faces criticism of its human rights record.

Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.

While Saudi Arabia has not hosted an ATP tournament several top players including Daniil Medvedev and Stan Wawrinka have competed in the Diriyah Cup exhibition event, which held its second edition last year.

Talk of a potential partnership comes after the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit ended a two-year dispute with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and announced an agreement to merge and form one unified commercial entity.

Saudi Arabia has also pumped huge amounts of money into soccer, Formula One and boxing. Reports earlier this year said Jeddah was among the bidders for the ATP’s Next Gen Finals which features the top Under-21 players.

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